We’re winning the civilization war.

….

Maliki returned fire saying, “You in particular will regain your trust in this government when we send your file to a court of law. You talk about Latifiyah when you know, and everybody knows, that terrorists are right now holding 150 innocent citizens hostages in that city”.

This direct threat was met by applause from the members of the UIA.

“The speaker (al-Mashhadani) didn’t like this response from Maliki and turned to the lawmakers and said “You applaud this? The Prime Minister is openly accusing one of your colleagues of being a terrorist and you applaud! This is unacceptable!”

From Mohammed Fadhil, Pajamas Media correspondent in Baghdad.

The speaker protesting against Maliki is reacting according to the mores of a shame-based society. He is directly stating that any accusation against a member of Parliament shames all of the members of Parliament.

The applause with which the MPs react is an indication of guilt-based thinking in operation: if it’s this bozo who’s in the wrong, how does his guilt or shame apply to them? Of course, the immediate result was pretty sectarian, but it’s notable that the speaker’s argument was instantly and viscerally rejected by the MPs.